In his DGM Diary for September 6, 2013, when King Crimson’s return to live performance was announced to an outbreak of media frenzy, fan adoration and spontaneous outpourings of affection, Fripp wrote:At 18.55 King Crimson VIII moved to its next stage of actualizationThis is a very different reformation to what has gone before: seven players, four English and three American, with three drummers.The Point Of Crim-Seeing was of a conventional Back Line reconfigured as the Front Line. The Seven-Headed Beast of Crim is in Go! mode.

King Crimson In "Lotsa Fun" Shock Horror:: Posted by Sid Smith on Mon., Jun 2, 2014
On the day that the new line-up of King Crimson held its first day of full band rehearsals, this just in from Robert Fripp: "First day of King Crimson rehearsals, with Front Line of three drummers and Back Line of three players (Mel Collins arriving back today from touring in Italy, joining us tomorrow) reporting good days. Personally, i had lotsa fun.Two Crim Principles articulated:1.Enjoying our playing together is encouraged.2.If you don't wish to play a part, give it to someone else - there's enough of them!Tour itinerary will be announced tomorrow on DGM.

On This Date 16 Years Ago:: Posted by Sid Smith on Mon., Jun 2, 2014
ProjeKct Two were knocking the socks off punters in Cleveland Ohio. The gig is available for download here. JPrisco who purchased this show said "this is ProjeKct music to peel paint, to frighten cows, to crumble empires. Bring fresh underwear" and another audient with the name of thestaz, had this to say: "I was in attendance at this show and it was one to remember. I was
very close to the stage; the now defunct Odeon was SRO. Thinking it
would be clever, I yelled at the band, "Are we on Zarg yet?" after the
song which I later came to know as Light ConstruKction. Mr. Fripp, I
think, found it more annoying than clever. He pointed a finger at me
and the listener can hear him say on this recording, "Who is this
guy!?" LOL. Mr. Gunn merely shrugged at me. Mr. Belew replied,
"That’s in a different universe!""

Warming Up With Bowness:: Posted by Sid Smith on Mon., Jun 2, 2014
Pat Mastelotto and Andrew Keeling appear on Abandoned Dancehall Dreams, the new solo album by No-Man singer Tim Bowness. Andrew provided the album's string arrangements whilst Pat can be heard to the fore on this thunderous track The Warm Up Man Forever. You can read an interview with Tim talking about this track here.

Crimson ProjeKCt Down Under:: Posted by Sid Smith on Thu., May 29, 2014
Promoters in Australia are trying to raise funds for the Crimson ProjeKCt to play Adelaide. Meanwhile, CP member Markus Reuter has released an album of soundscapes recorded during the last Crimson ProjeKCt tour. More details can be found here.

Starless - Live In Europe Update:: Posted by Sid Smith on Tue., May 27, 2014
Following the announcement a couple of weeks ago that a multi-disc box set of gigs from 1973 and 1974 was in the pipeline, there’s been a few responses from folks with audience recordings and eye-witness accounts. There’s also been a few folks wondering just what the devil the blue tapes are. Well, just for the curious, here’s a pic of them...

CONTRIBUTIONS WANTED

Crimheads - we still need your help.

If you were at any of the gigs listed below, have first generation audience recordings or any other memorabilia from that period then please get in drop a line to sidsmith@dgmlive.com

Here's the original announcement for Starless - Live In Europe

DGM is pleased to confirm that an October release date has been set for Starless, a multi-disc CD/DVD-A/Blu-Ray boxed set featuring live and studio recordings from October 1973 to April 1974.

The 40th Anniversary Edition of Starless & Bible Black (pictured above) was released in 2011

This set will feature the first complete release of the blue tapes - the highest quality reel to reel direct to stereo/soundboard live recordings of King Crimson from the era with many appearing on CD for the first time. More details of the content will be announced nearer the time of release as will the pre-order page.

In the meantime if you were you in the audience at any of the gigs listed below and would like to share your memories of the concerts for possible inclusion in the booklet then drop a line to sidsmith at dgmlive dot com as soon as possible. If you’re sitting on any pix, tapes or any other Crimson related items from this period now is the time to get in touch and send them in.

1973 Glasgow 23rd October Liverpool 24th October Leicester 25th October London 26th October Birmingham 28th October Bristol 29th October Hamburg 2nd November Frankfurt 3nd November Munich 4th November Dusseldorf 5th November Strasbourg 7th November Saarbrücken 8th November Turin 12th November Rome 13th November Zurich 15th November Nancy 17th November Lyon 18th November Paris 19th November Lille 20th November Brussels 22nd November Amsterdam 23rd November Barcelona 27th November Barcelona 28th November Madrid 29th November

1974Udine 19th March Brescia 30th March Paris 22nd March Marseilles 23rd March Avignon 24th March Besancon 25th March Augsberg 27th March Dieburg 28th March Heidelberg 29th March Mainz 30th March Pforzheim 31st March Kassel 1st April Gottingen 2nd AprilGottingen 2nd April

If you have any audience recordings or photographs or memorabilia then please get in touch at the above address.

On This Date 18 Years Ago:: Posted by Sid Smith on Tue., May 27, 2014THRaKaTTaK was released upon an unsuspecting public on May 27th 1996.

Not for the faint-hearted, The Wire said it was "As powerful a collision between improv and avant rock as you’re likely to hear, ThraKattaK is King Crimson’s finest hour." Meanwhile over at Q magazine the album was described as "ambient music for giants. Some passages are barely audible, others threaten to separate heads from shoulders..." Rolling Stone offered this verdict: A visceral treat, a document of amazing technical might and telepathic precision. Crimson don't just fuckaround; they fuck you up with sustained invention."

Classic or crud? Let us know your thoughts on the guestbook.

ProjeKct Three Tour Bundle:: Posted by Sid Smith on Mon., May 26, 2014
Today’s concert download offers all five P3 shows from their 1999 World Tour Of Austin.

Although three shows - 21st, 23rd and 24th - have been available for download for some time, adding the sets from 22nd and 25th, now fills in the gaps for P3 enthusiasts.

Mister Stormy says "We are offering one of the unreleased shows as a freebee if you buy the other unreleased show AND have downloaded the three that were previously available."